Behind the Curtains
by The Shinsengumi Muses
Summary: Woah, this one will be a little strange. It's kinda a fusion with Key: The Metal Idol from the Miho standpoint. You don't have to know ANYTHING about Key to read this. This may take a little while to get out, but I think you'll have a fun time with it.


**Behind the Curtains   
**  
By: Kako   
  
**Part One: Search **  
  


* * *

  
I collapsed into a boneless heap onto my bed. I always wanted this, this was what I had dreamed of all of my life, however I didn't think it was going to be this hard. My hand aimlessly wanders across my chest, brushes my cheek and comes to rest on my sweaty brow. I wasn't new to hard labor, work outs or any sort of exercise. I think that the thing that was getting me the worst was all the expectation and the lack of sleep that I had been forced to endure.   
  
But other than that, I was quite content. At least until my first CD would come out. Even if the anticipation was killing me, all of the workers in my business were sure I would be a success. I was still worried. Nothing would change that worry. There was a knock on my door, I still lived in an apartment. It was rather close to the recording studio, as if on accident. I lifted my head, and then my body, to a seated position and sighed.   
  
"Come in." I said, I hadn't really had the time to lock the door. I had planned on doing that before I got changed into my pajamas. A taller man walked in and I immediately recognized him at the producer, Sagara Aoi. I had a tendency of calling him Sagara-taichou. He walked in, as confident as ever, and took a seat by my bedside.   
  
"How are you holding up, Sanosuke?" I thought for a moment, about how to phrase my answer.   
  
"I'm doing fine. Tired." I watched as Sagara-taichou looked around the room for a clock, not finding one. I looked a bit sheepish. "I uh -- I'm not that rich."   
  
"But a clock? You shouldn't worry yourself about that, as soon as your record hits stores, you'll have money to burn." Sagara-taichou took a look to his wrist watch. "I should be leaving shortly, I just wanted to check up on you. After all, tomorrow is going to come pretty soon, you should know that. If you don't have a clock, how do you get up in the morning?"   
  
I grinned.   
  
"The lady next door, pounds like hell on the door because that's about the time she has to bitch out the paper boy for waking her up." He chuckled for a brief moment and then sighed. "Ne, Sano? Have you ever heard of Hajime Tsurugi?" My eyes widened for a moment.   
  
"Who the hell hasn't?! He's an idol! But why do you ask?"   
  
"Well, we played a bit of one of your tapes and he seems rather interested. It's not a for sure yet, but him even knowing about you is a step in the right direction. I wanted to tell you the good news myself." My heart began to pound. Hajime Tsurugi. The prodigy that shows that nothing is impossible, since he had already accomplished it! To have a somebody like Hajime Tsurugi know a nobody like Sanosuke Utsuse was unfathomable.   
  
The possibilities. The sheer luck!   
  
Sagara must have seen a crazy smile on my face, because he too gave me back a smile. "I'm so happy for you, Sanosuke." She said, and then stood up again. "Well, I best be going. I'll see you tomorrow. Hopefully the lady next door doesn't forget to bitch out the newspaper boy." I winked at him. "Yeah, I know. See you tomorrow!"   
  


* * *

  
"You goddamn little son of a bitch! Why're you taking the time to wake me up?!! I need my rest!!" Again, I awoke to the noise next door and let a brief smile come to my face. Yep, that would be my wake up call. I yawned and sat up in bed, working the kinks out of my body with my daily stretch. I hopped out of bed and headed over to take my morning shower.   
  
After that, I would have to run a quick marathon over to the recording studio and win it if I wanted to keep my job.   
Ahh yes. A standard morning.   
  


* * *

  
"Where have you been?!" I heard a random man in the office cry out as I skidded into the room, like a school boy right around the time the bell should ring. "Hey! I'm here, aren't I? Chill out!" I snapped back, it was a man that I didn't really like much. The only reason, Sagara-taichou told me, that we were keeping him around was because of his talents as a recorder. If it was his personality, well, let's just say he wouldn't have enough money to live off of.   
  
"Sanosuke!" I heard Sagara-taichou call and I spun around.  
  
"Hai?"   
  
"You better be careful, you're cutting it too close nowadays. Even if I have to do it, I'm buying you a clock!"   
  
"OK." I stated and looked around, waiting for some one to direct me. Kirai walked up to me and handed me a paper, and then tossed me into the recording room. It must have been the song that I was supposed to start on today. Warm ups took longer than expected, but finally I got to sing what was on that paper. I remember writing this with Sagara-taichou, it was one of the first songs that I ever wrote, and here I'm seeing it again.   
_  
I finally figured it out now,   
It took me a long, long time   
To organize the feelings   
That are running in my mind.   
  
I'm here to tell you now.   
I really wish you'd hear.   
But it might be as hard as hell   
When he's kissing around your ear.   
  
I need to get this out.   
I need to express my heart   
While this seemingly vivid image   
Is tearing me apart.   
  
Please take the time to squeeze me dry   
My heart no longer believes this lie   
I need a voice and courage's speed   
To keep you from this awful deed.   
  
Excuse me, this is really hard   
With his mouth so close to yours.   
But I need to tell you this now   
You're the one that I adore! _  
  


* * *

  
Next week, next week was the week. After all of this waiting, all of the worrying, my CD was finally going to come out! Ecstatic, yes.   
  
Worried, yes, who wouldn't be?   
  
But with Sagara-taichou helping me out, the worrying seemed to fade. But the thing that brought it back was Tatewaki Ajo. He was the president of Ajo Industries, the ones that were supporting up, but he honestly gave me the creeps. Sagara-taichou told me to avoid him whenever I could, and that worried me. Not because I was worried about Sagara-taichou being anti-social, he was really a nice guy.   
  
What I was worried about was the fact that he didn't like him, or trust him. That gave me a very, very bad feeling that I didn't know if I could deal with. I would trust Sagara-taichou with me life, he had always been there for me. But as he was acting now --   
  
Well, I was worried.   
  


* * *

  
_I leaded over the oozing heat kissed skin, beyond the broken and ravaged flesh. I felt sweat pour out of my pours and   
then realized that the corpse's skull was bent back to show off the pink organ inside, being infected with damp   
maggots. I let out a dry scream, hoping that someone would help me. _  
  
I chuckled to the horror movie, my best friend Katsu was over, and we rented a few scary movies, instead of porno this time.   
  
Yeah, I was eating. The best thing for one of these movies-- hot dogs covered in mustard and ketchup, with a side of Tortillas and salsa. Katsu looked sick to his stomach. I began to chew on another bit of my hot dog as the main heroin was stabbed through the chest and Katsu glared over to me.   
  
"Now when we were watching Black Jack and you were eating like crazy I could tolerate it, but this time I won't! Sano, you   
have a stomach of steel!"   
  
"And you have a stomach of tissue paper. Wanna refill?" I offered, standing up to get some drinks. "Yes, but I'm going to get it, I think you should keep watching the movie since you seem to love the gore so much." Katsu grabbed my drink as well as his and stood up to head to the kitchen. I was over at his house, relaxing on a beanbag in the corner, that I had dragged into the center of the room. That night was the night before meeting Hajime Tsurugi. I needed to chill, and Katsu was the best person to chill with. Speaking of, the man with shoulder length black hair walked back into the room, handing me another Dr. Pepper.   
  
He took one look at the TV and shuttered. "Sano, next time we are sticking to porn, kay?"   
  
"Ohh, poor baby! Do I need to hold your hand?"   
  
"Shove it." Katsu growled, slapping me upside the head. After sitting down, Katsu glared as the phone started to ring. "I'll get it, Kat. You watch the mummy rape the heroin's dead body, there's your porn for the night." I wink at him and hopped up to get the phone. I reached the phone in his bed room, furthest away from the TV, I didn't want whoever was on the phone hearing the noises coming from the living room. They'd probably figure Katsu was jerking off, or something like that.   
  
"Moshi moshi?" I asked into the phone, sitting down on the bed. "Could I take a message?"   
  
"OK. I'll tell him." I hung up and walked back just in time to see Katsu walking into the kitchen, looking especially disturbed.   
  
"Katsu, that was Maohitu, he said that they need you at work now, something about last minute preparations in the paper."   
  
Katsu looked at me odd, gesturing to the time. "At 12:34? Are you sure Maohitu isn't drunk again?" I shrugged my shoulders.   
  
"He sounded more sober than normal." Katsu shook his head, "Sorry about this Sano, we won't finish this marathon, but I can promise you another marathon later, OK? You're welcome to stay here tonight." I grabbed for his drink on the table and took a few chugs. He looked at me sideways and I laughed. "Well, you aren't going to drink it, right?"   
  
"I could have taken it with me, you know."   
  
"Bite me."   
  
"Not tonight, babe." I glared at him. Yeah, we've had some crazy nights, but knew we weren't made for each other. And he just happened to like Sagara-taichou as well. He pulled on his coat and walked outside, waving a quick good-bye. I slouched back into the beanbag chair and clicked off the TV and then the DVD player, after groping in the night for the controls. I yawned and looked up to the ceiling. Well, it would have been where the ceiling was if I could have been able to see. Now it was just a portrait of black.   
  
I ran a hand absently through my hair and rolled off the bean bag, standing up. I wasn't going to stay there for the night, but the least I could do was write Katsu a quick little note, after all he had been nice enough to offer. I flipped a light on in the kitchen and shuffled briefly through the drawers built into the sides of the counter. I found a scrape envelope (it had to have been scrape, he's a journalist and he gets all the paper he wants) and scribbled a short note.   
  
**Thanks for the offer, got a busy day tomorrow, call me later!   
Sano **  
  
On my way out, I grabbed my Nickelback CD that Katsu had said I could borrow and jammed it in my jean pocket's followed by my hands. I looked to the leather jacket hanging on the coat rack and didn't bother. I would pick it up some time tomorrow. Turning off the lights, I slipped out the front door, locking it with the spare key that I had been granted. I walked on, heading back to my apartment.   
  
After the fifteen minute walk, I finally reached the building that I called home. But there was a cloaked figure standing at the front of the building, either waiting for someone or about to walk in. The cloak was a black trench coat and the only other things that I saw were jet-black, slicked hair and a stream of smoke spewing up to the heavens. What was he doing here in the middle of the night? I kept walking, not wanting to stare as I passed.   
  
"Are you Sanosuke Utsuse?"   
  
He talked.   
  
To me.   
  
Who the hell was this?   
  
I turned around and raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, can I help you?"   
  
"I'm not sure, I want to know if you can help yourself first, being out in the cold without a coat. Future idols might want to treat themselves with a bit more respect, wouldn't you say?" I finally recognized the voice. It was the voice of Hajime Tsurugi.   
  
"I'm supposed to be meeting with you tomorrow, right?"   
  
He gave me a nod.   
  
"Why are you here now?" I didn't want to sound rude, I didn't want to get on the bad side of a man like this.   
  
"Something came up tomorrow. I thought because tomorrow was only a meeting I could get that done tonight."   
  
"At a time like this?"   
  
"Aren't you going to invite me in?"   
  
I took a moment, a bit hesitant, and then nodded. I walked up a flight of stairs, the man following me very quietly. He reminded me of some kind of animal, I couldn't even tell that he was following. Usually when someone is either watching or following you, you get this creepy feeling. I got a creepy feeling, but it wasn't that type of creepy feeling, I couldn't place it, and it was pissing the hell outta me. We reached my apartment room and I took a deep breath as I fiddle with the keys that I   
brought out of my pocket.   
  
It was dark, no hall light on, but I didn't think they would need one at this time. By now it was past one, and I was just realizing, as I opened my door, that my room was going to look like shit. Not the best way of this guy getting his first impression of me. I opened the door and quickly began to tidy what I could up. "Please, have a seat," I offered, pulling some magazine's off the coach. It wasn't at if he would enjoy sitting on those. Especially since they were yaoi porn. Eek. Whatta way to make a first impression.   
  


* * *

  
Katsu arrived at work and walked into the main office, pleasantly surprised to see Sagara-taichou smiling to greet him. "Hello, Sagara-san. I'm surprised to see you here at this time. Is there something you need?" Sagara-taichou nodded and was barley able to suppress a small yawn. But everyone was yawning at this time of night, about two now. "I was wondering if you would be interested in a job at Ajo Heavy Industry."   
  
"Where Sano works, or in the production line of things?"   
  
"Where Sanosuke works. Actually we heard that you were in a band with Sano when you were younger. The Sekihoutai, am I correct?"   
  
"Very, but I don't know why you would need me to play keyboard when you have professionals." Sagara-taichou fiddled briefly with a pencil, poised in-between his fingers. "Even though Sanosuke considered you very good with your hands, in regards to playing the keyboard, he also noted that you had an exceptional singing voice, am I right?"   
  
Katsu looked a bit embarrassed. "I never even thought about singing, why do you need me?"   
  
"In case we need backup for Sanosuke. I would feel very relieved if you would accept this position. Could you consider?" In his heart, Katsu knew that he couldn't refuse Sagara-taichou, just as Sano couldn't. He nodded. "You can go home now, I just needed you hear and didn't want Sanosuke to know. He was the one that answered the phone, was he not? I'm surprised that he didn't recognize my voice. Please, don't tell Sanosuke about this." Katsu nodded as Sagara-taichou left the room, and soon after, the building. Katsu wasn't too quick to follow.   
  


* * *

  
I yawned and opened my eyes. I blinked a few times and shook my head violently. Where was...? Oh yeah! Now I remember. Oh shit, when did I fall asleep? I looked around; it was noon, and I was... I looked down. Sleeping fully clothed on the coach, with an afghan that Katsu's mom knitted for me covering my body. Shit, what had happened? I paused for a brief moment of recollection.   
  
I remember Hajime coming in, setting down, and then talking to me in conversation for a good two hours. I must have fallen asleep on him at some time. That was just wonderful of me. I shrugged my shoulders, for a prodigy, he seemed more human than what the media took him for. Even if he was rather quiet, arrogant, and -- wait. I'm not doing him any justice. OK, maybe we clashed on a few topics and he made off calling me a moron, but he wasn't that bad of a guy, and he never really got   
offended when I told him his theories sucked and shit. He just countered and moved on to something else.   
  
I stood up and walked into the kitchen, gripping the afghan around me still. Everything still a bit hazy from the sleep in my eyes, I looked to the counter and noted a piece of paper taped to the surface. I looked at it again, seeing what it was. It must have been from Hajime, who else was in my apartment? I don't think that a burglar would have come in and left me a friendly note, or Katsu, without waking me up and yelling at me for no reason in particular. But, yeah, it was from Hajime.   
  
_Good morning, you seemed to be extraordinary tired last night, but that might have been due to the fact that you eventually fell asleep around four or five. I didn't really check myself. I'll expect to see you at the Naokiyou Dance Studio Wednesday. We'll work on what we discussed last night some more.   
Tsurugi _  
  
I nodded to the letter, smiling for no real reason. It then took me a moment to respond as the phone began to ring, I was a little more than out of it, didn't know why.   
  
Quickly, I snatched it up and cleared my throat. "'ello?"   
  
"Sanosuke! Where are you!? You're supposed to be here at the studio now!" I pulled the phone away from my ear, Sagara-taichou practically shouting into it.   
  
"Woah, you mean he didn't tell you?"   
  
"Tell me what?!"   
  
"He met with me last night, he wasn't going to be able to come today."   
  
There was a long pause.   
  
"How do you know it was him?" I wanted to shout 'duh' into the phone.   
  
"I've seen him on TV...!"   
  
"... I'm sorry, I was just worried about you blowing this deal."   
  
"You don't need to be!" I exclaimed and shook my head. He was always worried about me.   
  


* * *

  
"So this is the boy you're going to use, Ajo-san?"   
  
"Aa."   
  


* * *

  
End of part one   
  



End file.
